Project: Unit?
by SillyMonth
Summary: Curiosity over a blank DVD causes Emily's life to become stressful. Will this technologically inclined teenager finally break a few circuits? T to be safe. I do not own Hetalia or the manuals.
1. Chuugoku aru yo!

I dropped my bookbag and collapsed into the chair. Spinning a few times, I stopped and faced the table. First class of the day and my job was to finish the project I had started the week prior. Screws and wires were all over the place. I couldn't find half of the stuff that had been there the previous day.

"Guys, I have bad news."

I looked up at my teacher as the last two students walked in the door.

"The apparitions dvd we ordered is a blank. I'll call the company and see if they will send a replacement."

"Mr. Scrape, we need that dvd for the haunted house. How long will it take to get it?" my attention shifted to TJ.

"No clue. Let me call and I'll find out," Mr. Scrape started out the room.

"Wait, what is the name of the company?" I asked. Mr. Scrape informed me that the name was Unit Co.

I rolled to my assigned computer and looked up the company. Halloween apparitions weren't the only thing they sold. Life-size models of random anime characters were thrown in among their inventory. I figured they were robots, since it mentioned programming in the description, and thought of building a unit. Challenge accepted.

I went through a quick order process and didn't flinch at the steep price. My goal: Hetalia. I ordered one I thought to have simple wiring. Alfred F. Jones. Two business days meant it would arrive Friday. Just in time for a weekend project. I logged off as Mr. Scrape walked back into the room.

"Lousy customer service. Creepy Halloween recording daring me to go online," Mr. Scrape tossed his phone onto his desk.

"Web site doesn't help either," I sighed.

"I'll send an email later."

I brushed him off as I continued to hunt down pieces for the robotic arm I was almost finished with. Only the claw remained and I went through three other sets just to find the one that belonged to my robot. The evening class loved messing with stuff, and there were only two of them.

"Oh, guys. Don't forget to have your permission forms signed for Monday's trip. No form, no ride," Mr. Scrape reminded. I turned my form in the first day since I was my own guardian. Despite only being 17, my parents worked out a system with the school since they lived a few states over. I'll explain later.

By the end of the class, I had finished building the robot. The only thing left to do was test it. As soon as I plugged the robot in, the bell rang to dismiss us. I growled in frustration as I ran to grab my bookbag and lunchbox. The ride back to the high school was silent. Loren wasn't in a good mood, so I listened to music. The fifteen minutes dragged on and I was hungry, so when the bus stopped, I was the first one off. I pulled Loren with me into the school and to our table.

"Finally, a day when no stuck up morons have our seats," Loren didn't usually have that nice of a vocabulary when talking about people she didn't like. I figured she was hungry and didn't care about the girls that usually took our seats. We ate in silence until my two cousins joined us.

When the bell rang, Loren and Hunter shot off to their classes. Kaede and I walked slowly towards our classes, having an irrelevant conversation. We split our ways and I went to my civics class. After shimmying my way to my seat, I got comfortable and started looking at all the flags lining the walls. That class crept by and I kept thinking about building my own Hetalia character. My fourth block English class was the fastest class all day, and I, as usual, was the last one out the door.

I walked out to my car and turned the music up. I had a while to wait until the busses left and the other students cleared out. I text a few friends from my old school until the parking lot looked like it was straight from a western film, but instead of sand, it was snow. I drove the way home and passed out on my bed. I shifted a little to pull a stray wire out from under me.

"Sorry. You should be on my desk," I threw the cord in the general direction of my desk and pulled the pillow closer.

The next day went the same. And the day after. But after school, I had something to look forward to. I had just pulled in my driveway and a company truck was only a minute behind me. I met the delivery guy at his truck and signed while he took the crate up the six steps. I opened the door for him and told him where to set it, returning the clipboard in exchange for a manual.

"I ordered Alfred. This is Yao," I looked dismayed at the delivery man.

"What?" he looked at a plaque on the crate. "Huh. Guess it is. I'll talk to the shipping department. Since the unit is already here, you keep him free as a company promise that we apologize for the mistake."

I nodded slowly. "Thank you."

The man tipped his cap and left. I read through the manual and was disappointed that it wasn't a 'build it yourself' project. The good thing, however, is that I now had someone to help me take care of the house and finances. Although my parents paid for a lot of things, I had to pay my cell phone and the gas for the car. My job could cover that and the expenses for food that my parents wouldn't pay when I went out to eat.

"Russian? Ok." I faced the crate and took a breath to calm myself. "Zdravstvuy, moy drug." I waited for something, but nothing happened. "Privyet?" I looked at the manual for an answer. "Oh, no response."

I laughed a little to myself as I pulled the front of the crate off. A red blur tackled me to the ground and knocked the breath from me. I sat for a moment gasping for breath, and unable to do so since the unit hugging me wasn't planning to let go.

"Y-Yao," I managed out. Said unit stood up and helped me up.

"I apologize, aru," I snickered at the verbal tick. I had a few of my own.

"It's ok. I'm Emily," I held out my hand. He slowly shook it. "So, um, I guess gather your things? You can stay in the guest bedroom." I was looking about nervously. I wasn't used to housemates.

I settled Yao down and he decided to make dinner for us. It was unexpected, since I'm used to making Ramen noodles or a grilled cheese sandwich. Instead, I passed out in my room. When the food was done, Yao gave me a wake-up call.

"Don't get used to sleeping, aru. You need to have better habits," Yao said between bites.

"I'm a growing girl. Teenagers need between 8 to 14 hours of sleep," I was not changing my schedule. "Plus I have work some days and competitions other days."

Yao seemed to think over this for a moment. "If you went to bed earlier, you might not be as tired."

"Nope, I'd still be tired."

Yao seemed irritated, but he dropped the subject. I washed the dishes when we finished eating. With the dishwasher going, I sat in front of the tv and flipped through the channels. Yao got me to stop on Animal Planet because they were showing a documentary on pandas. I obliged and fell asleep on the couch. My unit woke me up around midnight and told me to go sleep in my room. I was apparently sleepwalking because I didn't remember any of it. When I woke up the next morning, I asked Yao and he told me.

I spent the whole Saturday cleaning up. I raked the leaves, rearranged the furniture, vacuumed, and swept. Yao spent the morning making an elaborate lunch and the evening making a more complex dinner. I had a distant feeling that he wasn't comfortable. The fact that my husky wanted to rip his head off didn't help much. When we were eating dinner, I decided to break the ice.

"How do you like it here?"

"It's peaceful, aru," Yao responded.

"Except for the barking, right?" Yao nodded.

The dinner was short, despite the amount of food. Anything left over was given to the dog. We watched tv again until I fell asleep, which was when Yao decided we both needed to go to bed. That night I had a nightmare. It was the kind that you don't remember, but you know it was something bad. I knew it was bad because Yao had to wake me up. It was a little awkward, since I didn't expect anyone to comfort me. Maybe it was just his personality. I spent the next day trying to remember what happened.


	2. Watashi wa Kanadadesu!

Yao was up early, making breakfast. We had agreed that he would make most of the meals if I didn't fail any classes in school. I agreed because failing a class was impossible. The subjects were so easy and I found ample time to do other things after finishing all of my work. Yao didn't think I was doing enough work. I told him to just wait.

The ride to the career center was filled with protests by Loren. She didn't want to eat lunch alone with my cousins. She and Kaede didn't exactly make BFFs. I told her to suck it up and have Hunter keep Kaede in line. Our class waited in the lobby of the center for the last two students to arrive.

I gathered my things and led the class out to the bus. The ride was only a half hour. When we arrived, we used the restrooms, were fitted with our harnesses, and were briefed about the bridge.

"I wish Yao was here. I wonder if he's afraid of heights," I mumbled to myself. I pulled my scarf closer as we walked to the bridge walk. A few pictures were taken and we started the quarter mile. 18-wheelers drove overhead as each of us stepped onto the suspended platform. Wind blew from wither side and the river below surged with rapids. Level four whitewater courses passed beneath the steel and concrete bridge.

"Oh god. I can't," I turned around to Clarissa and patted her shoulder.

"If I can do this, I know you can. It's not that high." I pulled on her tether to urge her forward. In the front of the line, the tour guide was trying, and failing, to speak over the rising wind. The teacher was looking around, taking random pictures. The instructor for our JROTC classes was trying to help me calm my classmate down.

"I don't like heights." Clarissa started backing up, bumping into the instructor.

"Don't look down. Keep on walking," Lizzy called back. She was in front of me and Clarissa was behind me. TJ must have heard the commotion from the front, since he called back as well.

"Don't look up either. Your tether might break, ow!" Lizzy had given him a hard punch. The walk swayed as I counted three 18-wheelers go by overhead. That was 54 wheels at one time.

I couldn't blame TJ for a part of his comment. Looking up when I was in a high place made me sick and dizzy. Looking down from the 851 foot walk into the trees and river was easy.

The whole tour took over an hour and a half. I recorded the entire time, looking at the scenery and the group in front of me. TJ and Sam were intent on having fun, even at the expense of Lizzy's patience. Mr. Scrape had chosen to ignore them, knowing they were only looking for attention. At the end, we caught a ride back in the company van. We ate pizza and had cookies before we had to go back to the career center.

We walked one by one into the classroom and I listened to everyone's hyper ideas for the haunted house. Almost as soon as Lizzy started one of her ideas, the bell rang to dismiss us. I caught up with my friend Andy.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I told you that I would be hanging 800 feet in the air, didn't I?" I stuck my hands in my pockets.

"Oh, you had that bridge walk thing," he fixed his camouflage hat and watched the ground.

"Yep, taller than the Eiffel Tower," I smiled.

We got onto the bus and I sat in the seat behind him. The ride back was silent, but he started talking again when we sat down in the cafeteria. When the school bell rang I waved him goodbye and waited for the crowd to move the hell away. This took about five minutes. It took another five minutes to maneuver to my car without being a bug on a grill.

If the teenagers drove any worse my cousin would have to have the whole force keeping an eye on the school. Occasionally, a teacher would join the crazy train, but that was once or twice a week. When I finally got home, I noticed my dog, Duchess, was going crazy. I slipped on a patch of ice climbing the front steps, but I regained my balance with the quick help of Yao.

"We have a new unit, aru."

"Yes!" I rushed past Yao and found the manual on the dining room table. My face fell only a little at seeing the name. "Still wrong one."

I pulled out my phone and called the number on the front. After three rings, the phone was answered.

"Thank you for calling Unit Co. Are you calling from the website or from a manual?" was a high voice on the other end.

"Manual," I replied, flipping through said item.

"What is the nature of your call?"

"This is the second unit that's been delivered to my house. The problem is, it, like the first one, was a mix-up," I glanced at Yao and saw the expression on his face. "I don't have a problem with them, but when I order something, I expect to get what I paid a lot of money for."

"What unit did you order?"

"Alfred Jones."

"What units have you gotten?"

"Yao and Matthew."

"So close. I wish our shipping department would stay organized. This is the fourth time this month. Ok, so I'll resend the order free of charge, compliments of the company. Because this has happened twice, we will also send an apology unit of your choice," the lady seemed tired as if she hadn't slept in a few days.

"It's almost Halloween. Surprise me?" A feeling of dread hung over me for a moment before dissipating.

"Signed, sealed, and on its way!"

"Thank you," I sighed quietly.

"No problem. Anything else?"

"Nope. Bye."

We both hung up and I turned to Yao.

"They won't get it right, aru. They never had anything in order," Yao held my stare.

"The more the merrier, ja?" Yao nodded a little. I looked at the manual and started to flail.

"Are you ok, aru?"

I ran to the basement and dragged a dolly up the stairs. With Yao's help, I loaded the crate on the dolly and rolled it outside, down the stairs, and to the woods. I heaved a sigh and ran back to Yao in the house.

"The Columbus Cottonmouths are on. Cover your ears!" I turned to the game and turned the volume up as loud as possible. Andy Willigar had just slammed someone from the other team against the wall and a ref blew the whistle. A blur flew by me, knocking me off of my feet.

"Hey! That's my favorite team!" I pushed Matthew aside since he was sitting in the middle of the couch.

"No Canadian teams?" he asked in a quiet voice. I took pity on him.

"We only have ESPN. I'm sorry," I watched the game to end the awkwardness. Jesse Chenard kicked the puck away from the goal and I jumped up. "CHRIS WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!" Said defender ditched the goal to team up with Andy. Both of them slammed a player into the wall. Big penalty. I was ashamed that they were playing that way.

"Get up 24. You'll live," Matthew said. I snickered. He looked at me.

"If you like this team, you should see the Lions. They share the rink with the Cottonmouths. They are friend teams, not rivals," I stared off at the memories I had of the rink.

"I love hockey," he said.

"I know. I only like it when this team is playing, though." I took my thoughts away from Matthew for a moment and realized that Yao had started on dinner.

"And I have my meeting tomorrow. Great," I mumbled to myself.

"What meeting?" Matthew looked at me curiously.

"Y-you weren't supposed to hear that!" I jumped a little and scooted away. "It's a weekly thing the next town over."

Matthew and I watched the game until dinner was ready. I was starving so I dug right in after thanking Yao. Matthew slept on the couch that night and school the next day was boring. When I got home, I changed into my uniform and told the two units to load up.

"Where are we going, aru?" Yao asked.

"My meeting. Don't ask. And don't talk to anyone. Shock is a difficult character to understand." I started the car and started the half-hour to the meeting.

Yao and Matthew waited upstairs. When we came up for our break, I bought them both a snack and a drink from the machine. We talked with the cadets for a little bit before going back downstairs. When the meeting was over I drove us to the nearest Dairy Queen for ice cream and dinner. We sat inside and ate, talking a little. Matthew and I talked more than Yao did, mostly about hockey. When we went home, I hung up my uniform, dressed for bed, and passed out.

**Author's Note**

I've decided to throw one of these in. It would be nice if I can get feedback. What unit would you like to see? What should go wrong next? Is there anything I need to fix? Be nice please!


	3. Ore Supein!

It was an early morning. A knock at the door woke me before my alarm did. I struggled for the light and stumbled my way to the door.

"You are way too early. It's only 5:30," I growled.

"You're my first delivery. Since my deliveries are usually far apart, I have to start early," the delivery man held out a clipboard. I signed and let him bring the crate in. We swapped clipboard for manual.

"It's wrong again. How does the company do this so bad?"

"Sometimes, I think they do it on purpose." He tipped his hat and left.

"Who is it?" damn Yao was an early riser. He already had his tea.

"I'll make breakfast burritos for him," I abandoned the manual on the coffee table and went to the freezer. With a big yawn, I pulled out the drawer that held two breakfast burritos and a ton of other burritos. I was a burritoholic, but not since Yao arrived.

I pulled the wrapper off, put a breakfast burrito on a saucer, and put it in the microwave. When the timer pinged, I took it to the box and ushered Yao away.

"Good morning. Do you want breakfast?" I waited for a response. There was a pause before there was an answer.

"Eso huele increíble!" I glanced at Yao like the brain-dead zombie I am at five in the morning, probably expecting him to know something.

"Gracias?" I pulled the box open and let my new unit have his breakfast. I went back to my room and collapsed in my bed, hoping to go back to dreamland. It was then that I realized that we had nowhere for Antonio to stay.

"Dammit." I dragged myself out of bed and went to the door. As I opened it, I was greeted by Matthew who was about to knock.

"Good morning."

"Oh God!" I put a hand over my rapidly beating heart. "I wasn't expecting anyone there."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's just too early for me to think," I yawned again. "What's up?"

"I was only going to ask about accommodations." That was when an idea struck me.

"Yao has taken to keeping the house. I think you and Antonio will have to get jobs. Mine alone can't afford food for all of us."

"I've never seen you go to work. What do you do?" Matthew tilted his head a little.

"It's not a regular job. I work irregular hours doing whatever they tell me to do."

He nodded slightly, probably not understanding completely. When I was hired, I didn't understand either.

"If you and Antonio get jobs, we'll be able to buy two sets of bunk beds. They'll fit in the other two rooms, but I'll have to move around my things," I yawned again.

"I don't mind. Maybe someone will notice me, then," the second part Matthew mumbled to himself.

"Who are you talking to?" Yao asked. I rolled my eyes and returned to the softness of my bed. Matthew quietly followed me in and sat at my desk, watching me attempt to sleep. As soon as I was almost drifting off, my alarm decided to scare the life out of me. I quickly shut it off and groaned.

"I GIVE UP!" I threw the blanket aside, scaring Matthew a little. I stomped to my closet and snatched out some clothes. Not caring that Matthew was in the room, I changed and checked myself in the mirror. "I'm so done with this." I pulled on my black boots, my Germany hoodie, and a white scarf before going to the kitchen.

"Good morning!" Antonio greeted me.

"Bah. Humbug," I growled. Yao handed me my lunchbox and I put it with my purse.

"But it is a nice morning, aru." I glared at the unit. If he didn't make life-saving food, he'd have been long gone. I was about to reply when my phone rang.

"Yes?" I answered. There were two voices on the other end, trying to talk over one another. "I can't hear both of you at once." Everything stopped. Some arguing was heard before Kaede's voice spoke.

"Snow day! The snow last night got so high they couldn't get in the school. They need time to dig it out."

I made an angry motion that resembled a mime flipping a table.

"Those dumbasses couldn't call me?" I was fuming.

"They called everyone's parents." Hunter chimed in.

"Uh, no parents here?"

"Uh, they might just be dumbasses?" Hunter chuckled.

"Wait, what are you doing at Kaede's house?"

"Homework last night. Turns out now I don't need it."

"I give up. Bye guys."

"Bye!" they said in unison and hung up. Cousins. Pfft.

"Mattie, get your scarf on." I grabbed the car keys, picked up my purse, and led the way to the car. The snow had, indeed, piled up. Matthew was quick to follow. The drainage on the side of the driveway had done its job and there were two tracks of no snow for the wheels to drive on.

"Three hundred dollar system and it's beautiful, non?" I smirked as the all-wheel drive kicked in to get us up the hill.

"May I ask where it is we are going?" Matthew was holding on to the door as the car bumped and rocked.

"Driving."

Matthew nodded and fell silent. Salt from the roads kicked up behind us as I drove. The snow plows had an early morning. I felt a vibration in my pocket, a signal that my phone had a text message. I pulled over at the old church to check. It was the legendary boss.

"Nope. Not happening. My crew can't do that," I tossed the phone in the backseat.

"Can't do what?"

"We aren't licensed." I continued driving. As I neared the end of the road, I calmed down enough. I turned left and drove for a few miles. Coming to the turn-off I needed, I turned left again and drove until the post office came into sight. Apparently they could clear the doors for the post office better than the school. The only problem I had with no school was we still had to finish decorations for the haunted hallway/room at the career center.

I went in to check my mailbox. It was empty. When I returned, Matthew was gone. Not invisible. Gone. The passenger door was open and there was no sign of the Canadian.

"Shit."

I looked around the parking lot and down the street. I heard someone behind me and turned in time to dodge a bat. I snatched the bat, but the holder didn't let go. I twisted the bat and shoved it back into my attacker's ribs. There was a yelp and he collapsed to the ground. I snatched the discarded bat and pushed it to his neck, pinning him to the ground.

"Where is my friend?" I glared.

"Free," he tried to react, but I pushed him back.

"I can kill you, dammit. Where is Matthew?!" I pulled out my pocket knife and pressed it to his cheek. His eyes went as wide as saucers and her started to panic. Right then there was a siren and I looked up to see another cousin of mine.

"Ronnie, thank god. My friend was kidnapped and this guy tried to attack me."

"Let him up," I did as he said and he held the guy by his coat. "Where is her friend?"

"D-down the street. Please don't arrest me! I just wanted them all free!"

Ronnie put him in the squad car and I told him the whole story, from the day in class up until that moment.

"Don't feel bad. Sheena woke me up to let the dogs out three this morning. When they came back in they wouldn't stop barking because of the snow," he rubbed his bald head sub-consciously. "When I had to get up at five, they finally fell asleep."

"So why did you show up here?"

"I was on my way to Fayette when I saw your car. I noticed you and your friend here and wanted to make sure you were okay." He motioned to the squad car.

"Can we find Matthew? I'm worried about him."

"Boyfriend?" Ronnie asked.

"No, housemate. I've taken in a few hoping to take some bills off of my parent's hands," I didn't want to tell him the truth. In the story, I hadn't mentioned that they were units. And I hadn't mentioned a few other details.

"Ok. Let's go." Ronnie nodded.

I got in my car while he got in his. I assumed he was having the boy tell him where the group was, so I followed him. Since it was an ordinary 'walk in, arrest, freedom' thing, I won't go into details. Matthew was excited that I hadn't forgotten about him, of course I need my hockey buddy. I thanked my cousin twenty too many times, but he was happy that he was able to help me.

I went back home, on the way making Matthew promise not to tell the others. He agreed, since it was apparently a bit traumatic for him. When the other two asked where we had been, I told them down the street and back.

"For over an hour?" Yao seemed upset.

"There was an accident, so we had to wait in traffic." I shrugged.

"Traffic in the mountains?" Antonio was probably on his tenth burrito.

"It was an 18-wheeler." I walked toward my room. Yao sighed, probably giving up. I had work to do. It was almost Halloween and I couldn't wait. I was going to be Bloody Mary in the haunted hallway. Oh what fun awaited!

Author's note:

I'm not going to be here for the 6th and 7th. I'm going to a 2-day camp. Yay me! So I'm posting this early. Very early. School will be hectic in the coming weeks, but I'll post chapters. When i post them will be the question.

And don't hate me for the attack. I figured I needed action. Please review and favorite!


	4. Boku wa Roshia!

Halloween. It had been two long days of grueling work from the whole school to get the haunted hallway done. We spent two weeks on it, but two days got more work done than the rest of the time. The day of the Scare Faire I managed to leave my phone at home. After school, I drove home to retrieve it. A crate greeted me at the front door, manual attached with a note that said 'special delivery, no signature required.'

"Great." I pulled it off and flipped through. "They have a sense of humor. And everything makes him hostile. Hilarious."

I took a preparation breath, then breathed in deeply.

"BIG BROTHER!" My Belarus accent had a hint of a Transylvanian accent with it, but that was to be expected. I could only sound like Tonny, Kumajiro, and Liechtenstein.

As soon as those words left my mouth there was sobbing from the box.

"Go away!" it steadily grew louder.

"Ivan?" I pulled the front off of the box and was picked up in a crushing hug.

"I am safe!" I tried struggling, but he just held me.

"I-Ivan?" I went limp. He just carried me inside. I assumed Yao was taking a nap, since he wasn't in any of the main rooms. Ivan finally set me down and gave a long look around.

"Big house, da?"

"Big, but lack of beds makes it uncomfortable," I admitted. With three couches, Antonio and Matthew had plenty of room. Still, I didn't want to force them like that. Matthew had gotten a job as something he would rather me not know while Antonio became an elementary school teacher. Antonio's first paycheck was to come by the end of the next week, so beds would be bought then.

I shook my head to delay my panic as I remembered why I came home. "I have to go to the Scare Faire. Do you want to go or stay?" I grabbed my phone and looked to him for a response.

"I will go. I like scary things." I looked at him a moment before mumbling to myself.

"Not a surprise." I added a little louder for him to hear me, "Let's go then. I don't want to be late."

We went to the car and buckled up. I drove out of the driveway and to the votech. We went in and I greeted my two cousins.

"I don't want to be here," Hunter whined.

"Then why are you here?" I asked.

"It was either this or go with my brother to a party. I can't stand socializing."

"I convinced his mother otherwise," Kaede threw in.

"This is Ivan. Ivan, these are my cousins Kaede and Hunter," I introduced.

"Privyt. I don't know your name, though, moy drug." It then occurred to me I hadn't introduced myself to him.

"You're such a bad friend. How do you know his name when he doesn't know yours?" Kaede flicked me in the head.

"Long story. I'm Emily," I turned to him.

"Well look at my star student," my teacher came up to our group. "Is the closet finished?"

"Been done since lunch. We spent the afternoon working on the hallway itself. The electric chair room needs a little more TLC, but Brandon agreed to do that," I smiled.

"Are you getting dressed soon?" Mr. Scrape asked.

"That's what Kaede is here for," I grabbed said cousin's arm and dragged her to the bathroom. Earlier in the day I stowed my costume and makeup in a bag and hid it in the janitor's closet. I retrieved the bag and we set to work. After ten minutes of trying to get my contacts in, I got dressed and Kaede started on the makeup. An hour later, she finished and I looked frightening.

When the fair started, I took my place and waited. As people began to walk by, I hissed and growled and shouted 'off with your head'. I felt bad for leaving Ivan, but I had a feeling he was having fun. At one point, when I was catching a second wind, an England unit walked by. He jumped and yelled random British curses.

"Your face was priceless!" I laughed, almost losing the bloody fangs in my mouth.

"The bloody hell are you supposed to be?" he asked in horror.

"Your favorite queen," I smiled, catching on quickly.

"Not even close," he continued on quickly, probably trying to forget I existed.

A little later, Ivan came through. I didn't effectively scare him, but he said I was cute in my costume. The England unit returned with who I assumed to be his owner. I summoned my most menacing growl, which actually scared Ivan a little.

"That's who I was telling you about." The unit said.

"Freaky," before the owner could say more, I started singing 'London bridge is falling down' in a soft, innocent voice. My smile was wide and I tilted my head to an unusual angle. I could assume my contacts were only adding to the look.

"Aha. I find this amusing," Ivan smiled. The other two looked at him as if he was the one acting possessed.

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" I started singing another Bloody Mary related nursery rhyme.

"She knows what she's doing," the Arthur whispered.

"Da. She is very good," Ivan looked at the other two who had returned their attention to me.

"More scares at this fair down the hallway. Move along," I gestured for them to go.

"I will be back," Ivan warned. The other two followed him, the unit owner talking animatedly to Ivan before being scared again by a classmate of mine.

The night continued on as it had and toward the end, Ivan returned.

"Ready to go?" he asked me.

"How's the rest of the fair?" I questioned.

"Booths are closing and the last drawing was five minutes ago," he smiled.

"I'll find my teacher and then we'll leave." I left my post to go to the classroom of horrors. Ivan followed, but I ignored him as I found my teacher. "Mr. Scrape? Do you need any help cleaning up?"

"We'll clean up on Monday," I nodded, trying not to laugh at my teacher's clown mask. It was elementary, not scary. He might as well have come as Ronald McDonald; a very laughable clown.

"Alright. Goodnight."

Ivan led me outside and we found the other units waiting by the car. Matthew and Antonio had gotten my old car running and they used it for job transportation. It was impossible for me to walk to school, so I needed my newer car.

"Did you guys come earlier?" I asked them.

"Yes. The booths were very fun!" Antonio beamed.

"American culture is confusing, aru," Yao answered. Matthew nodded agreement.

"But I didn't see you in the haunted hallway," I frowned.

"Antonio and I went," Matthew commented. I looked at Yao for his excuse.

"I was avoiding someone, aru." He looked away.

"Uh huh." I raised an eyebrow but didn't push the subject. Matthew gave a big yawn.

"Time to go home. We have a relaxing weekend ahead of us," I ushered Ivan to my car and waved farewell to the others. They followed me home. The snow made it hard to go slowly down the gravel drive, as there was ice. When I got inside and warmed up enough, I quickly went to bed. The other four followed my example.


	5. Wagahai wa Suisu!

It was two days later when my reorder came in. It had, for the most part, been a relaxing weekend. I made sure to look at the plaque nailed to the side of the box before I signed anything.

"This isn't the one," I gave a heavy sigh. "Just cancel my order. I don't want it anyways."

"Sign?" the delivery man held out a clipboard.

"This is the last," I warned him. He nodded. I was about to reach for the clipboard when my phone went off. I apologized and answered.

"Hello?... No, I told you we couldn't over a week ago… I didn't send it because there was an accident… No, with a friend… Well you can't expect me to unless you produce a license or maybe a warrant… Yes, the one I've been asking for. What other one is there?... That one is for the resource department… No. Goodbye," I hung up and threw my phone at the nearest unit, which happened to be Matthew. "Hold that."

I quickly signed the paper, received the manual, and bid the delivery man goodbye.

"Maple. Is everything alright?" Matthew asked.

"Just my manager," my phone rang again, but I ignored it. Matthew put it on the kitchen counter.

"Why don't you do what he asks?"

"It would require a license," I growled.

"Maybe I should ask what the job is," Matthew half-laughed.

"I'd rather not talk about it," I looked away. "I've dealt with it enough."

He only nodded.

"Can you make pancakes? I have a unit to awaken," I looked over the manual as Matthew set to work on cooking. I couldn't do any of the methods, or rather, I didn't want to. But I could sound exactly like Liechtenstein.

I noticed Matthew watching me and I smirked. He started backing away a little bit. I took a careful breath and began.

"Big bruder? Breakfast vill be ready soon. I hope you don't mind pancakes," I took another shaky breath and waited.

"Liechtenstein?" A voice was heard from the box. I opened the box for him, continuing the accent.

"Good morning," I smiled. "Howv are you today?"

"Um, decent?" Vash looked confused. I returned to my normal voice.

"Freaky, huh?" he only nodded. "Ja, my friends always tell me that."

I stepped back so he could get out of the box. He gathered his things and stood awkwardly.

"We're having a bit of a room crisis. We're going to buy beds at the end of the week, but you'll have to share with someone. They'll be bunk beds, though."

There was a knock at the door and I wore a puzzled look as I opened it.

"Here's your unit. Sorry I'm late," the man said. He looked out of breath.

"I already received a unit today," I was suspicious.

"No. I'm the only one on this route. This is the unit you reordered for," he tapped on the crate next to him. I looked at the plaque and, sure enough, it said 'Alfred F. Jones AKA America - Hetalia'.

"Then who brought the other one?" I looked back at Vash.

"Well, there is another company trying to steal our customers," the delivery man said slowly, as if he wasn't supposed to say it.

I retrieved the manual sent with Vash and looked in the bottom corner. I asked for the manual that came with Alfred and compared them. Vash's manual had 'Flying Mint Bunny Company' in the corner with a picture of said creature. On Alfred's manual was written 'Unit Co., the original and best' with its logo.

"Well isn't that a spark of thievery," I gasped. "How do they get away with it?"

"They make their units differently. Ours are individually bred and raised, made for their lives with unit owners. Theirs are clones, straight from whatever media they come from. Their clones have little clue about how to handle real life situations, no offense, buddy," the delivery man motioned to Vash, who I realized was right behind me.

"I don't care what company made me. The only thing I can do is serve my owner," Vash glared at the man.

"Nein, you have choices," I frowned. "I won't force you to do anything. I wouldn't force anyone to do anything… except to stop fighting, but that's common sense," I added the last part, not wanting to sound completely incapable.

I signed the clipboard while the two had a staring contest. The delivery man realized what I was doing and left with the clipboard.

"Vash, please calm down. He was only doing his job," I looked up at the unit that was only a few inches taller.

"He was degrading me because of the company I'm from," Vash looked back.

"He was only answering my question," I closed the door, forgetting about the unit on the porch. Vash began to walk away. "Don't walk away when we're fighting. It's rude." I trailed after him.

"I'm a neutral country. I don't fight," Vash glanced back at me.

"Den ve von't fight," I brought my Liechtenstein accent back, causing Vash to stop. It was then I realized a few of my other units had woken up.

"Don't do that," Vash said. By his voice I could tell he was flustered.

"Don't do vhat?" I asked innocently.

"Don't talk like that," Vash dropped his things in the living room and found the back door, making his way outside.

I sighed and went to the kitchen, where Matthew had made several pancakes. I propped myself on the counter with my elbows and looked around boredly.

"Who wants to wake the hero?" I asked in a monotonous tone. Ivan was the first to respond, walking to the door with a creepy smile on his face.

"I don't want to know," I stuffed a pancake in my mouth.

"Eh? That's not good witho-" Matthew trailed off as I tipped my head back and poured maple syrup into my mouth. "Better." He amended. I smirked, and then grabbed a plate of pancakes and some syrup.

"I'll be back," I walked to the back door as arguing from the front door was heard. I quickened my pace and made it outside. I looked around the yard for Vash and found him by the wood stove.

"Big bruder? I thought you vould be hungry," I gave a sincere smile and offered the plate.

He somewhat reluctantly took the plate and began eating slowly.

"I'm Emily," I returned to my normal accent.

"Nice to meet you," Vash said between bites.

"I don't care where you come from. You're here now and I have to take care of you," I nodded curtly.

"You don't have to take care of me. I can always be sent back," Vash refused to look at me and he stopped eating.

"What would happen if you went back?" I asked.

"We aren't supposed to talk about it. Something about keeping the fantasy alive," my mouth formed a small 'o'.

"I didn't exactly order a unit for any particular reason. I thought units were robots you could put together yourself. I wanted a weekend project I could work on," I looked at the sky.

"We're real. Real enough," Vash said.

"There is no enough. You're real and that's all there is," I watched the clouds.

"There are many others just like me. I'm not special," he was starting to bum me out. How did they treat the units at FMB?

"You are special. You came to my house, not any other unit. I'm sure there were many other units that could have come here, but it was you. None of your look-a-likes," I smiled at him, hoping I could help. He just slowly nodded. Out of all my units, he was the only one questioning himself. The FMB company didn't do a good job, did they?

"Want to go back inside?" I asked. He nodded again.

"Er, thank you," he said after we stood up.

"Don't mention it. You are special," I ushered him toward the house. "This will be our secret."

Later that day my manager called again. I was forced to answer it by a frustrated Matthew. I went to my room and closed the door.

"_It seems we have the license secured for the next month. When should we start?_" I growled under my breath.

"I'll be in tomorrow after school," I strained to keep calm. The only reason my manager still worked there was because he got things done. It didn't mean I had to like him.

"_School is such a waste when you're already successful,_" I wanted to slam the phone against the wall and forget he even existed.

"You tell me to drop out one more time and I will guarantee you don't have another career. There are plenty of others more capable of taking care of the place than you are," I growled menacingly.

"_It's just a waste of time. Time you could be here working on the place._"

"I don't want that to be all I ever do. I want something more," I sighed.

"_Like what? Researching and curing cancer? Hun, no one has and no one will. You'd sooner cure the common cold._"

"Then how about I do both and shove you out to dry? Don't you dare ever say there's something I can't do." I hung up before he could get another word in. True to my intentions, I threw my phone against the door in frustration, hearing a few gasps from the other side. Unfortunately, my phone didn't break. Not even a scratch. I walked to the door and opened it before the spies could leave.

"'Ello loves. What brings you here?" I said in a decent accent. The two units spying froze, while the third looked ready for murder.

"I was trying to get them to leave," Vash said, glaring daggers at the American and Spanish units.

"Well, looking at the weather rolling in tonight, we should have a snow day tomorrow," I put on an evil grin, "Maybe these two will accompany me to work tomorrow?"

Alfred had a face of horror while Antonio didn't seem to understand what could be bad about that.

"I don't like work!" the American whined.

"Relax. You'll find a different job than mine," I chuckled. The look of horror never left his face. I sighed. "Thank you, Vash."

I left my phone where it landed and returned to the dining room for dinner. The one perk of a big house, your parents buy you a big table for family get-togethers. I guess these units were my family now.

Matthew shot me an apologetic look while the others looked at me questioningly. Apparently they heard me while I was on the phone. I wondered why the other two had been right outside my door if that was the case.

**A/N: For a few days, the site wouldn't let me view, edit, or update my story. I apologize for the wait.**


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